Financial aid recipients must understand and agree to these terms and conditions.

All financial aid is awarded subject to acceptance or readmission to the University.

Financial aid funds must be used solely for expenses related to attendance at Ohio Dominican University.
The University reserves the right to revise any portion of the Financial Aid Award if it is determined that the award is based on incorrect or misrepresented information, if funding of federal/state programs change or for any other reason necessary.

The Financial Aid Office reserves the right on behalf of the University to revise and cancel an award at any time because of changes in financial or academic status. Students who receive financial aid must maintain satisfactory academic progress as defined by the Financial Aid Office. Please refer to Satisfactory Academic Progress below for details.

Recipients of financial aid are to notify the Financial Aid Office of any other scholarships, loans or employment benefits extended to them from sources outside of the University. An adjustment in your total financial aid may be made, if necessary.

Financial Aid Awards are based on enrollment (credit hours) and housing status. This is indicated on your award notification. Please notify the Financial Aid Office if your enrollment or housing plans change. This could result in a revision of your Financial Aid Award.

If you withdraw from school during a term, your aid will be adjusted according to Ohio Dominican’s Refund Policy. Students must officially withdraw by contacting the Registrar’s Office.

Financial need will be re-evaluated each year. For the purpose of this re-evaluation, the filing of the FAFSA is required every year. It is the student’s responsibility to apply as soon as possible after January 1 each year. Ohio Dominican’s priority filing date is March 15.

For students borrowing loan funds from the Federal Stafford loan program or the Federal Perkins loan program for the first time, it will be required that you complete entrance loan counseling as well as a master promissory note. Exit loan counseling will be required prior to graduating, withdrawing or transferring from Ohio Dominican University. Please refer to the Loan section of our website for details on these loan programs.

If Federal Work-Study is part of your award, you may earn up to the amount listed through a campus job. It is your responsibility to secure employment. You may view job postings on our Work-Study website. The amount you earn will depend on your pay rate and the amount of hours you actually work. Students are paid bi-weekly.

The total amount of aid that is received from all sources must not exceed the cost of attendance at Ohio Dominican. This includes tuition, certain fees, room and board, etc. If additional forms of aid are received at any time during the academic year, an adjustment to your financial aid award may be necessary.

The University reserves the right to correct clerical or computational errors.

Families who have had significant changes in their financial status after the FAFSA has been filed are advised to submit a Special Circumstance Application to the Financial Aid Office. Depending upon the allowable circumstances, adjustments to the financial aid award may be made by the Special Circumstance Committee.

Examples of common special circumstances include:

loss of a job;

reduced wages;

divorce or separation;

death of parent;

medical expenses not covered by insurance;

tuition paid for other siblings in elementary or high school;

parent in college;

loss or reduction of income;

and other unusual circumstances that might affect your ability to contribute to educational costs.

Students may be required to verify the accuracy of the information entered on the FAFSA. The Department of Education randomly selects a sample of students each year to go through the verification process. If you are selected, a Verification Worksheet and other tax documentation will be requested by the Financial Aid Office.

The verification process must be completed before financial aid can be credited to the student’s account. Your original financial aid award is an estimate and could change after the verification process is completed. Completing the paperwork requested in a timely manner will allow your family to plan financially for the upcoming academic year. You will receive a revised financial aid award letter if your aid changes due to this process.

Conflicting Information

The Financial Aid Office is required to resolve any conflicting information in the student’s financial aid file or other related educational records prior to determining or disbursing financial aid funds. In many cases, additional documents will be requested from the student or family. Failure to resolve the conflicting information will eliminate financial aid eligibility.

Enrollment Changes

To be eligible for certain aid types, you must meet the enrollment requirements for each program. For example, to be eligible for institutional, as well as some state and federal programs, a student must be taking at least 12 credit hours per semester. This is considered a full-time course load. For the Federal Stafford loan and Federal PLUS loan programs, a student must be enrolled in at least 6 credit hours per semester (half-time).

You may be eligible for the Federal Pell Grant in any enrollment category. Any change in enrollment during the academic year may cause changes in your financial aid award. The Financial Aid Office must adjust or void some aid types when it is necessary. These adjustments could result in your owing money to the University.
Withdrawals

A student who withdraws during a semester must immediately inform the Registrar’s Office to complete the withdrawal process. Non-attendance does not constitute official withdrawal. If you withdraw from school during a term, your aid will be adjusted according to Ohio Dominican’s Refund Policy. You will need to complete Exit Loan Counseling if you borrowed Federal Student Loans.

Satisfactory Academic Progress

Federal regulations require institutions to establish a reasonable Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) policy for determining whether an otherwise eligible student is making satisfactory academic progress in his or her educational program. To be eligible for federal, state, and institutional student aid funds, a student must make reasonable satisfactory academic progress toward the attainment of a degree or certificate program. The Financial Aid Office at Ohio Dominican University reviews a student’s entire academic history to ensure timely progression toward graduation.

The SAP policy applies for all financial assistance programs including but not limited to:

State Grants and Scholarships (Example: Ohio College Opportunity Grant)

ODU Grants and Scholarships

Private Alternative Loan Programs (as determined by the Lender)

Academic progress is assessed according to qualitative, quantitative, and maximum time frame measures that are described within this policy. All measures must be met for continued financial aid eligibility. Students failing to meet any single measure of satisfactory academic policy will be deemed ineligible for aid and may be eligible to appeal. SAP will be monitored after each semester for all students, regardless of enrollment status hours.

The cumulative grade point average (GPA) measured at the completion of each semester is the qualitative measure. The minimum GPA requirement depends on a student’s academic level (undergraduate or graduate).

Quantitative Measure

The total number of credit hours successfully completed divided by the total number of credit hours attempted is the quantitative measure.

For example: If a student has attempted to take 50 credit hours but only successfully completed 40 out of those 50 credit hours, the completion rate would be 80% (40/50 = 80%).

When these measures are used, federal regulations require that a student’s entire academic history be considered for a student's academic program; this includes semesters during which federal aid was not received by the student as well as all applicable transfer hours.

The following factors are considered when calculating students’ satisfactory academic progress:

Withdrawals, withdrawal with a passing grade, withdrawal with a failing grade, and incompletes are considered attempted but not earned hours and not included in the GPA.

Passing credits received for pass/fail courses are considered attempted and earned credits but not included in the GPA.

Failures are considered attempted credit hours but are not earned hours and are included in the GPA.

Repeated courses are included in the calculation of both attempted and earned hours. A student is allowed to repeat a course only once. The final grade earned will be included in the GPA.

Audited courses are not considered credits attempted or credits earned, and not included in the GPA.

Transfer credits, credits taken at another institution and accepted towards the student’s academic program at the University are included in both attempted and completed hours when measuring the student’s progress. This includes those received during College-Level Examination Program (CLEP) courses.

Transfer credits received during consortium study are included in both attempted and completed hours and are also included in the GPA.

Remedial courses are included in the calculation of both attempted and earned credit hours. They may also impact GPA calculations.

For second degree programs, credits accepted towards the new academic program are included in both the attempted and completed hours when measuring progress.

The use of the published length of an academic program and the number of credit hours attempted is the measure of maximum time frame. A student is expected to complete a degree/certificate program within a certain time frame.

For both undergraduate and graduate programs, the time frame cannot exceed 150% of the published length of the program as measured by credit hours attempted.

For example, if the published length of an academic program is 120 credit hours, the maximum period must not exceed 180 (120 x 1.5) credit hours.

Undergraduate Programs

Graduate Programs

Academic Programs & Levels

Associate & Bachelor's Degrees

Master's Degrees

Total Credit Hours Attempted

1-17

18-24

35-186

Required Completion Rate

67%

67%

67%

67%

Minimum Cumulative GPA

1.75

1.85

2.0

3.0

Maximum Total Credits or Time Allowed to Complete Primary Degree Requirements

Students not meeting qualitative, quantitative, or maximum time frame measures at the end of each semester will be placed on a WARNING status for one semester and will receive written notification from the Financial Aid Office.

A student may continue to receive aid during the one semester WARNING period.

If, after the following semester, the student succeeds and meets all SAP measures, they will be removed from WARNING and are considered in GOOD STANDING.

Eligibility for any federal, state, or institutional financial aid may be regained by eliminating all satisfactory progress deficiencies at the student’s expense until all requirements of this policy are met or by appealing the satisfactory academic progress status and the appeal is approved. Periods of non-enrollment or paying for school at the student’s own expense does not automatically qualify a student to receive financial aid again in a subsequent semester.

Students who have been suspended due to a deficiency of SAP measures after the financial aid WARNING period may appeal the suspension to regain eligibility for federal, state, and institutional financial aid. A SAP Appeal Form and supporting documentation must be submitted to ODU’s Financial Aid Office by the specified deadline in the student’s SAP SUSPENSION letter. Appeals received after the deadline will not be considered.

If there are extenuating circumstances that should be considered during the appeal process, federal, state, and institutional financial aid reinstatement may be possible during a financial aid PROBATION period. Reinstatement of aid for a PROBATION period may be considered for extenuating circumstances such as: death of a relative, serious injury or illness of the student, or other special circumstance.

Appeals will be reviewed by the SAP Review Committee. Students will be notified, in writing, the outcome of their appeal. All appeal decisions are final.

A student may only have two appeals during their academic career at Ohio Dominican University. If a student’s appeal is approved, the student will be placed on financial aid PROBATION for one semester, unless an approved academic plan specifies otherwise.

An academic plan may be a required part of an appeal and completed with an academic advisor.